The Storm's Flower
by Manda-of-the-6
Summary: 1000 word drabbles of (relatively) canon snapshots in the lives of Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. Open for suggestions! [Primarily ReNora with other ships also implied]
1. Meddler

**Author's Note:**

Man it's been forever since I've posted here!

The origin to this series of drabbles started from a #FlashFictionFebruary prompt (500-1000 words for every day of February) I decided to include some drabbles of my favourite R.W.B.Y. ship: _ReNora_.

So the long-short of it: 1000 words of relatively canon shenanigans.

There will *obviously* be spoilers as the series goes along, so be sure to pay attention to the "drabble location in R.W.B.Y. timeline" as an indicator.

If you have something in mind, feel free to send in a review with a drabble suggestion / writing prompt. I'll see what I can do. ^_^

* * *

 _ **Suggested by:** Author's Original Creation_

 _ **Drabble location in R.W.B.Y. timeline:** Volume 3, Episode 8: Destiny_

 _ **Basic Scenario:** What happens after Nora drags Ren back to the fairgrounds..._

 ** _*_ BOOP _*_**

"Well _I_ think they're cute!" Nora interjected, walking alongside her taller -currently overburdened- friend through the fairgrounds.

"You're meddling, Nora." Ren scolded.

"Am not!" Nora furrowed her brow, "I'm simply _trying_ to push them into the right direction." She reached up and grabbed a handful of popcorn, stuffing it into her mouth, "I mean," her speech was muffled, "you and I can both tell that Pyrrha really, _really_ likes Jaune..." she paused to swallow, "but Jaune hasn't made any moves since the dance... and I don't mean dance moves!"

In went another handful of popcorn, though Nora had the sense to chew and swallow before continuing.

"It's been _weeks_ , he can't _still_ be getting over Weiss _..._ " Nora sighed, "but I have a good feeling about this; Jaune got some cotton candy for Pyrrha, and that's a step in the right direction!"

Ren couldn't help but glance at the half-finished cotton candy they'd been sharing.

Nora pouted, "so maybe _this_ time Jaune'll stop being so dense and get a gosh-darn clue!"

Ren raised an eyebrow, "Do you think it's wise for teammates to be in a relationship?"

"Oh sure," Nora waved a hand without thinking, "I mean, Ruby said that _her_ parents were both on the same team and she turned out fine. Heck! She got into Beacon two years early, so they must've been doing _something_ right!"

Ren sighed lightly; that _wasn't_ what he meant.

Before they could continue, a loud booming voice called out from one of the festival games.

"Step right up! Don't be shy!" A striped-vested showman -complete with a moustache and flat-topped straw hat- twirled his cane at the attraction, "Only _five_ Lien to test your strength!"

"Ooh, that's perfect!" Nora tugged Ren by the arm towards the high striker. "I _did_ promise that I'd win you a stuffed animal." Her eyes lit up with excitement.

Already a rather large crowd had gathered around the attraction, as the bell of the high striker was an impressive two storeys above the fairgrounds.

"Gentlemen." The pointed his cane into the middle of a group of boys, "can you prove you're _man_ enough to ring the bell?" He turned to some of the girls accompanying them, "Ladies... does any boy have a right to bask in such _lovely_ presence, if they can't prove their strength?"

Ren did everything he could to keep the bucket of popcorn in his hands level as Nora dragged him closer to the game.

"Wield this hammer," the showman gestured widely to a huge hammer on a rack, "and we'll see if you have what it takes to-"

"Ooh! Ooh! I'd like to try!" Nora smiled from ear-to-ear, releasing Ren and hopping up and down.

The showman was taken aback, but only for a moment, "Why... of course you can _try!_ " He pointed to a significantly smaller hammer nearly hidden behind the other, "We even have a hammer _especially_ for little ladies, such as yourself."

Ren had to suppress a snort; it was so typical for people to underestimate Nora. Whether it was mistaking her bubbly nature as stupidity or -in this case- her smaller stature as weakness. He took a sip from his soda, prepared to enjoy the spectacle that was 'Nora proving everyone wrong'.

"Why thank you," Nora said cheerfully, passing five lien to the showman before stepping up onto the platform. She breezed right past the main hammer and it's _little lady_ counterpart to an enormous hammer that was behind them all. The head alone was nearly the size of Nora's petite body.

Gripping the shaft, she dramatically dragged it behind her as the showman looked on with his jaw slackened. Feigning exhaustion, Nora wiped a hand over her forehead.

"Boy, this 'little ladies' one sure is _heavy_." Nora moaned.

The crowd laughed at Nora's antics as the showman sputtered, "T-That's not what I-"

"Oh well!" Nora shrugged with a giggle, straightening up. She winked over her shoulder at Ren, before adjusting her grip on the hammer.

Widening her stance, Nora squared out her shoulders and prepared herself as if she were in battle. Ren saw the faint shimmer of her aura flaring along the surface of her skin. Nora then took a running leap across the platform, laughing as she soared.

There was a breathless moment of hang time as Nora somersaulted mid-air, before bringing down the hammer to the dead centre of the pressure pad, with a spectacular smash.

The ring of the bell lasted much shorter than it typically would, as the weight sped past the normal limits and shot the bell off right of the tower.

"Oopsies." Nora gasped, "Sorry about that..." she fluttered her eyes innocently at the now-speechless showman.

Skipping over to the prize rack, while the crowd cheered, Nora looked up at the selection of stuffed animals. Her eyes widened when she saw a large stuffed sloth.

"Perfect!" She grabbed the sloth around the middle. Hoping lightly off of the platform, Nora landed at Ren's side, "thanks for the game, sir!" she called back all too cheerfully to the shell-shocked employee.

The crowd dispersed as the showman picked up the pieces of his ego and the bell.

Meanwhile Nora happily walked alongside Ren, relishing in her victory.

"Guess _he_ didn't watch much of the tournament," Ren rolled his eyes as Nora hugged the sloth around her shoulders with a gleeful smile.

"Kraaaw! Kraaaw!" Nora flapped the arms of the sloth outwards.

Ren smirked, "Such _accurate_ sloth noises."

With a giggle, Nora reached one of the stuffed sloth's arms forward and poke his nose with one of its claws, "Boop!"

Ren couldn't stop the smile if his life depended on it.

"Now where were we..." Nora stroked her chin, "Ah yes!" She punched the air, the sloth draped over her shoulders bounced with her, "how to get Pyrrha and Jaune _together_ -together..."

"Meddler." Ren teased, tossing a handful of popcorn into his mouth and waiting to listen to his best friend's latest scheme as Beacon's resident matchmaker.


	2. Gift

**Author's Note:**

Obviously there'll be some drabbles (such as the one below) where I'll take some artistic liberty with the timeline gaps.

* * *

 **Suggested by:** _Author's Original Creation_

 **Drabble location in R.W.B.Y. timeline:** _Between Volume 1, Episode 14: Forever Fall Pt. 2 and Episode 15: The Stray_

 **Basic Scenario:** _How Ren got his apron_

 ***BOOP***

Nora stared at her notebook, not seeing the homework for Professor Port's class. She was instead trying to think of a solution to an important problem.

"What's up Nora?" Yang sat across from the redhead, putting her elbows on the table and propping her chin against her hands, "Missing your study buddy: Tall, Dark and Handsome?"

Nora sighed. While she _did_ miss having Ren help her out with the boring subjects, he was actually the source of her current dilemma, "Yang... I need help."

"Oh?" Yang smirked, "Boy trouble, Miss Valkyrie?"

"Yeah..." Nora looked away before catching herself, "Er... I mean, not like _that_ sort of boy trouble -um- it's... it's Ren."

Yang quirked an eyebrow, "You sure it's not _that_ sort of boy trouble?" She leaned towards Nora, "it sure sounds like it from here."

"Ren's birthday's coming up and I have _no_ idea what to get him!" Nora blurted out, holding her head in her hands, "I only have a few days left."

"Oh," Yang was taken aback by the information, "I dunno if I can help with that, Nora, you're the one that knows Ren the best..."

"I know," Nora groaned into her hands, "and that's the problem." She looked up, "I can't think of _anything_ he needs or wants... and I don't know who to ask."

"Hmm..." Yang rubbed her chin, "well... what does he like?"

Nora looked around the library, making sure that she was still in the 'all-clear' zone that Pyrrha and Jaune had promised her. They had taken Ren to sparring practice in hopes of getting Jaune warmed up before Goodwitch's class. Nora flipped to the back of her notebook, where she had complied a list for such an occasion and pushed it towards Yang.

"Wow." Yang leaned to look over the list, surprised how long it was, "I'm _sure_ we could get something from this."

Over the next few minutes, Yang found out _quite_ a bit about the mysterious Lie Ren.

Naps, lotis flowers, Samurai Shampoo, the colours pink and green, classical music...

The closest thing he had to a vice in his love for tea; particularly aquilegia as a medicinal brew, though that was _very_ hard to come by.

He wasn't the "long walks on the beach" or "the smell of Dust in the morning" kind of guy, but his interests in literature and quiet meditation instantly reminded Yang of Blake.

Yang could tell from the amount of time that Nora put into compiling the list that she cared deeply for Ren, even if she adamantly claimed that they weren't _"together-together"_.

"He likes cooking for you, right?" Yang pointed to the doodle of a frying pan on the list.

"Well, he likes cooking in general," Nora shrugged, "I just like eating."

Yang folded her hands together, "maybe see if he needs anything to help with cooking? Try watching _him_ the next time he makes you something and not the food."

"Yang!" Ruby called from across the library, "we're gonna be late for class!"

"Aww shoot! Didn't even pay attention to the time," Yang jumped up from her chair.

Nora snapped upright, realizing that she _also_ had the same class. Scrambling to grab all of her stuff, she hurried after Yang and Ruby.

The class flew by without incident -Goodwitch only yelled at Nora _twice_ to settle down- and soon Team JNPR had reconvened in the dormitory for their weekly pancakes and battle strategy dinner.

Nora followed Ren into the kitchenette room of their dorm. Seating herself at the table, she carefully watched Ren cook with practised ease.

His eyes narrowed with intense focus as if he were facing a deadly foe. Nora fiddled with her fingers, trying to pay attention to what Ren was doing and _not_ what he was cooking... or the very tempting bottle of syrup _just_ within arm's reach.

"Pancakes done yet?" Jaune interrupted from the other room.

Ren's focus snapped at the noise, and he fumbled to catch the pancake he was currently flipping. His ninja reflexes ensured that the fluffy pancake had not met an unfortunate fate, though Nora could see that Ren was noticeably tenser.

"They won't cook faster if you ask them, Jaune!" Ren responded curtly, flipping another stack onto a plate.

Nora gripped the edge of the table, forcing herself to look at Ren and not the pancakes. Anything but the pancakes... the ceiling, the floor, the table, the strange pattern on Ren's shirt... no wait, that was just batter.

"You've been quiet... is everything all right, Nora?" Ren turned to his best friend.

Nora could see more batter and flour caked on Ren's shirt and her eyes lit up. "Yes!" She smiled, "I mean, it is now."

Ren smirked, turning back to the frying pan, "Well, they're not done _yet_. But if you could help me carry them out..."

"Of course!" Nora interjected, "anything to help my bestest friend in the whole wide world..."

Ren chuckled, flipping the last of the pancakes onto a heaping stack. He turned off the burners, setting aside the frying pan and bowls for later washing. Sighing through his nose, he grabbed a towel hanging by the sink and worked at getting the batter and flour off of his shirt.

Nora's smile widened, she knew _exactly_ what to get him. Bouncing up from the table, she grabbed two stacks of pancakes in each hand and balanced them out into the main dorm room.

"Nora!" Ren nearly dropped his towel, "careful! Don't drop them!"

"You grab the syrup, Ren." Nora responded without looking back. "Two bottles please!"

Jaune and Pyrrha rushed to grab their plates of pancakes off of Nora's arms before they could tip over.

It took a couple of days and a bit of sneaking around, but Nora managed to get into Vale without Ren to complete her purchase. It was more than worth it when Ren opened up the colourfully-wrapped box and pulled out a pink apron that read: "Please Do Nothing to the Cook".


	3. Electric

**Author's Note:**

Basically until it's revealed in the canon, it's fair game...

* * *

 **Suggested by:** _Author's Original Creation_

 **Drabble location in R.W.B.Y. timeline:** _Between Volume 2, Episode 2: Welcome to Beacon and Episode 3: A Minor Hiccup_

 **Basic Scenario:** _How Nora discovered her Semblance_

 ***BOOP***

"So Nora..." Pyrrha leaned forward on her bed, a soft smile on her face, "exactly _how_ did you discover your semblance?"

"You know, I was wondering the same thing," Jaune set down his comic, "did you stick a fork in a toaster?"

Nora giggled at the thought, draping an arm over her knees, "not quite..." She hazarded a glance at the bathroom door, before looking back at her teammates, "it was actually one of the only times that Ren got _really_ mad at me."

To say that Jaune and Pyrrha were shocked at Nora's words would've been the understatement of the century... and a bit of a pun.

"R-Ren? Mad?" Jaune blinked, shaking his head, "You're talking about the same guy, right Nora? 'Cause the one I know: _super_ zen."

"I'm sure there's a good explanation for it," Pyrrha looked from Jaune back to Nora, "although I can't say that it's easy to imagine Ren as anything other than..." she searched for the appropriate words.

"Emotionally stable?" Jaune offered.

"Yes!" Pyrrha nodded with a smile and finally looked at Nora, waiting to hear the story behind it all.

There was a pause as Nora looked from the bathroom door back to her audience, knowing that she had their undivided attention.

"Well..." Nora's smile softened as she thought back to her and Ren's younger days, "both of us had unlocked our Auras by then; so we were about twelve -no wait... I was still taller than Ren-"

She paused a moment, to think it over.

"Eleven! We were eleven years old, and there were _still_ a bunch of kids teasing Ren about having pink eyes 'cause they said he looked "girly"- which all though I was fine with Ren having pink eyes -because pink's one of my favourite colours, if you couldn't tell- but I was _not_ fine with them picking on my best friend."

Nora pouted a little at the memory; still feeling ire towards the needless teasing that Ren used to receive, all for something that wasn't his fault.

Nora's mouth twisted into a smirk, "So I was gonna do everything that I could, to make them back off and leave Ren alone."

"Did you threaten to break their legs?" Jaune supplied.

Snorting, Nora shook her head, "I wasn't nearly as strong back then, but boy was I good at _picking_ fights." She phantom-boxed a quick one-two to prove her point, "Anyway, so _somehow_ it came down to me getting challenged to a bunch of dares from the group of people who were picking on Ren..."

"Challenges?" Pyrrha enquired.

"Oh yeah, all sorts of them!" Nora smile widened, "whether I could chug a bottle of hot sauce in a minute; if I could balance a glass of water on each hand while walking on a tightrope; writing an _entire_ assignment using my left hand; a blindfolded obstacle course;" she counted off on her fingers, "a lot of food ones... I guess they didn't believe how _healthy_ my appetite was, even back then..." Nora shook her head, "but none of them were quite as daunting as the _last_ challenge."

Jaune and Pyrrha leaned forward, eyes locked on their pink clad teammate.

"It was a dark night and I was to climb this spooky old house just outside of the village," Nora wiggled her fingers for effect, "it had this _really_ steep roof with loose shingles -I almost fell off a couple of times- but eventually I made it to the top and yelled "I'm Queen of the Castle" as loud as I could!" Nora jumped up on her bed, opening her arms up in a victory pose. "Now just before I could climb down and claim my victory, there was a rumble above me." She bounced a little on the balls of her feet. "I hadn't noticed these huge storm clouds gathering... and I was smack in the middle of them!" She punched her palm to emphasize her point, "I didn't even have time to look back down before CRACK!"

Nora flopped back-first onto her bed, arms spread out.

"I was struck right in the noggin' by a bolt of lightning! Before I knew it, I hit the ground -I mean, it didn't really hurt... I kinda _bounced_ a bit- and I stared those bullies right in the eyes, and they ran off."

"Wow..." Jaune looked at Nora in awe, "and _that's_ how you discovered your Semblance?"

"Uh-huh." Nora nodded, sitting back up in her bed.

"So, what about the part where Ren got mad at you?"

"Oh... right," Nora deflated a little, "Ren had been watching the whole thing from the start... We sort of had an argument about it -because he said it was too dangerous, and I said that I needed to do it to stop those bullies- and it wasn't made any better when I was knocked off of the roof." Nora sighed and hung her head in shame. "He wouldn't speak a _word_ to me for days."

Jaune gave Nora an odd look, "But Ren doesn't talk much anyways... right?"

Nora glared at Jaune with a pout, "not saying _anything_ is a whole lot less than not talking much!"

"So, what made him come around?" Pyrrha asked gently.

"Well..." Nora hugged her knees, "I kinda- sorta- _tried_ to make him apology pancakes..." she shuddered, "it didn't end well."

"You know some good did come from those pancakes..." a voice cut in from across the room.

The three seated teammates jumped in surprise at the interruption. Ren stood next to the bathroom door, arms folded over his chest and his hair still wet from showering.

His mouth quirked into a half-smile as he looked at Nora. "We learned that Nora can't cook to save her life."

Nora threw a pillow at Ren -which he caught, without blinking- while she blew a raspberry, "That's why I keep _you_ around, you big meanie!"

It wasn't long before the two best friends joined Pyrrha and Jaune in their laughter.


	4. Stronger

**Author's Note:**

If it wasn't obvious by the placement of this drabble in the timeline: Volume 3 Finale SPOILER ALERT

* * *

 **Suggested by:** _Author's Original Creation_

 **Drabble location in R.W.B.Y. timeline:** _Volume 3, Episode 12: End of the Beginning_

 **Basic Scenario:** _Ren stumbles upon a late-night trainer several days after the events in Beacon_

 ***BOOP***

The smack of fists on leather.

After escaping Beacon, the sound had become commonplace to the training area of their temporary home in Patch. Even at such a late hour, Ren wouldn't have given it an afterthought -nearly passing the sliding door- until he heard the softest noise from the otherwise empty room.

A muffled sob.

His heartbeat froze with his footsteps. His fingers tightened around the mug in his hand, although it didn't seem as warm as a moment ago.

The sound of training resumed, though the pattern of beating was erratic.

Ren stood in the empty hallway; listening carefully. The strikes to the abused leather, pants of exertion mixed with frustration, and what sounded similar to the buzz of an electrical fixture -though much softer- which Ren recognized.

Nora.

Sighing, Ren turned and stepped into the training room. He hadn't expected it to be nearly pitch dark, blinking a couple of times to adjust his sight.

She was at the far corner of the room -her back to him- pounding away at a heavy bag that was nearly twice her size. The faint rays of moonlight highlighted the sweat glistening along her shoulders and down her back. Her habitual pink workout shirt lay abandoned to the side and she wore a black sports bra with her emblem in silver on the back.

There was a weight to the air, indicating Nora's use of aura in her training. Ren could feel the amount of energy that Nora was putting into each strike, and did not envy the heavy bag for a second. His eyes widened when -as she was drawing back for a powerful hit- he noticed that Nora was fighting bare-handed. She hadn't even bothered to wrap her knuckles to prevent damage.

With a ferocious shout, Nora landed what would've surely been the finishing strike of any battle -Grimm or otherwise- against the unfortunate heavy bag. The chain creaked uneasily as the bag swung around violently.

Too focused on the follow-though of the strike, Nora didn't have enough time to react to the bag's change in direction.

"Nora!" Ren sprinted forward, mug of tea abandoned, to where Nora lay on the mats.

The redhead was dazed for only a moment, groaning in pain, until her attention snapped to the unexpected arrival at her side.

"R-Ren?" Her turquoise eyes were wide and she fumbled with how to respond to the situation.

Ren look down at Nora's flushed face seeing wild fear in her eyes. That look brought his mind back when they had first encountered the creatures of Grimm as children, but the thought only lasted until she turned away.

"I- I didn't realize how late it was- did I wake you up? I thought I was far enough away from the bedrooms that you wouldn't hear me... but I guess -since you're _basically_ a ninja- you probably heard it anyway..."

Nora babbled on, looking everywhere but back at Ren, as she sat up and drummed her bruised fingers against her knees.

"I mean, I can find somewhere else to train, if it's a problem- I know how much you like to sleep... not saying that you sleep too much or are lazy- I just-"

"Nora." Ren placed his hand on top of hers, silencing the redhead for a moment.

She finally looked back at him. Ren could see that the initial shock of panic had faded, but it only allowed him a clearer view of how worn out she was both physically and emotionally.

"Why are you training so late?" He asked gently.

"I just," Nora chewed on her bottom lip, looking at Ren's hand atop hers. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. "I need..." Her hands shook as she tried regain her composure, "I- I need to be stronger." She opened her eyes and stared at the heavy bag as it swung in the shadows. "I need to be better, because I-" her voice cracked, "I wasn't strong enough when it mattered most."

Ren's throat dried. He knew exactly what she was talking about. The guilt of losing Pyrrha haunted him every time he saw Jaune try to put on a brave face around everyone else. The plague of "what ifs" kept him awake most nights, and was clearly doing the same to his best friend.

Nora's lower lip quivered, Ren could see her eyes shining from held-back tears. "I mean- I should've been able to take on those robots... I could've gone back for Jaune and Pyrrha... but I..." her voice dropped to a whisper, "I- I was too weak, and-"

Tears fell from her eyes, her shoulders shook in effort to contain herself. She choked out, "I _can't_ lose anyone else, Ren!"

Her hands darted out from under Ren's and she buried her face in them, finally allowing herself to cry.

"No more..." Nora managed between sobs, "I'm not- not strong enough."

Ren felt the sting of tears prickling behind his eyes. Seeing Nora so vulnerable with the same feelings of guilt, brought out something in Ren that he wasn't sure he knew how to handle.

He gently placing his hands on her shoulders.

"You are not alone, Nora." He stated firmly, but kindly.

There was a pause in Nora's crying as she looked up from her hands. She met his gaze and Ren hoped the conviction in his voice didn't betray his conflicting emotions.

"Not anymore."

Nora's lip quivered. She pulled Ren into a tight embrace, locking her arms around him.

Ren reacted as if by instinct, running a hand through her hair while the other traced circles along her back. Nora's body shook with silent sobs as she buried her face against his chest.

Though Nora could bear the weight of her hammer as if it was nothing, there were some burdens that she couldn't carry by herself.

Ren wrapped his arms around Nora and pulled her closer, vowing that he would do everything he could to be her strength.


	5. Names

**Author's Note:**

Woops! Meant to post this yesterday to keep within a drabble-every-four-days schedule. Oh well! There'll just be less wait until the next chapter!

Since in the R.W.B.Y. timeline there's at least a month between 'Players and Pieces' and 'Jaundice', that leaves me with plenty of wiggle room to play around in...

* * *

 ** _Suggested by:_** _Author's Original Creation_

 ** _Drabble location in R.W.B.Y. timeline:_** _Between Volume 1, Episode 10: The Badge and the Burden Part 2 and Episode 11: Jaundice Part 1_

 ** _Basic Scenario:_** _Nora tries her hand a naming teams_

 ***BOOP***

For as long as she knew him -which was pretty much forever- Ren had been the shining example of a perfect student. As a result, Nora was surprised when Ren set down his pen and sighed during Professor Port's class.

Their mustachioed teacher had gone into another long-winded story about times past; not particularly relevant to the lesson he was currently teaching. It didn't help that it was one of their earlier classes in the day.

Glancing at the notes Ren had been taking and then back at her friend, she noticed the telltale bags under his magenta eyes. He hadn't slept well -again- after Goodwitch had put the freshmen class under an extended sparring session the previous afternoon.

He was still fairing better than others... Nora noted, looking a row below them to where Pyrrha and Jaune were seated. Their 'Fearless Leader' was on the verge of passing out from exhaustion, splitting Pyrrha's focus of being an attentive student with her concern for Jaune.

"Hey Ren," Nora smirked, elbowing him lightly and nodding at their teammates, "Bet you three whole lien that Pyrrha _likes_ Jaune..."

Ren looked up from his notes, taking a moment to process what she had said. He glanced at their teammates and back to her, "Nora..." he raised an eyebrow, "I don't make bets that I can't win."

"Ha!" Nora exclaimed, though the interruption warranted a disapproved throat-clearing from their teacher and a couple of glares from their fellow students.

Waiting a moment, until Professor Port resumed his story, Nora whispered to Ren, "So... how long do you think it'll take?"

Ren sighed, rubbing his eyes in an effort to stay awake, "if it doesn't interfere with our team's performance, then it's not our business."

"You're no fun," Nora pouted, slumping further into her seat.

Ren gave her an odd-look and then his eyes darted to the scribbles on her notebook, "what are you doing?" he pulled it closer to his side of the desk.

"Oh yeah..." Nora straightened up with a smile and scooted next to Ren, "I was coming up with new team names," she pointed to the page with rearrangements of JNPR and RWBY written across it.

Ren blinked once, the strange look remaining on his face.

"Hey! You _know_ I get bored if there isn't fighting or Professor Oobleck in class." Nora snorted, "I wonder if he has like _quadruple_ espresso shots in his thermos..."

"What is this team supposed to be?" Ren tapped his pen at the first line under the Team JNPR rearrangements (PRNJ).

"Team Prune Juice," Nora giggled enthusiastically, "You know, when we're old but still kicking Grimm butt."

Ren face-palmed and bit back a groan; likely picturing the members of their team with white hair and wrinkles, battling Grimm while complaining about their bad backs.

Nora flipped to the next page, "and _then_ I got to thinking... what if Jaune and Ruby took the _other_ relics," she pointed to another column which had rearrangements of RWNR and BYJP.

Ren shook his head, but there was a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"I mean, think about it..." Nora tapped her pen on one of the combos (WNRR), "with Ruby and Weiss... we could've been Team Winner!"

"Two problems with that:" Ren pointed out, "one... I'm pretty sure Ozpin bases our team names off of colours."

"Winner could be a colour." Nora retorted, folding her arms over her chest.

Ren raised an eyebrow instead of answering.

"Gold." Nora stated, as if it were obvious.

Ren rolled his eyes, "And two..." he pointed at the W in WNRR, "with this set-up _Weiss_ would be our leader."

Nora felt the blood drain from her face at the thought. Sure... Weiss _was_ an excellent fighter, as she had demonstrated both during Initiation and in this classroom when Professor Port had matched her up against a Boarbatusk. But she was also... _scary_.

"Err... never mind then," Nora laughed nervously and forcefully scribbled the team formerly known as WNRR from her notebook.

After a pause, Ren pointed out, "you do realize that there are _more_ possibilities..."

"I know..." Nora shrugged, "I _could've_ added other teams like CRDL; except they're kinda jerks..."

"I mean..." Ren cut in, "if you split the partners up."

"Yeah, but..." Nora's heart sunk and she tried to swallow a lump in her throat, "then... we wouldn't be on a team together..." she ran her hand over the pages of her notebook, unable to look back up at her friend.

Her mind raced at the suggestion. Even if it had only been Ruby and Ren two switch -not even _changing_ the team names- it would change everything! An unexpected feeling of jealousy spiked up at the thought of Ren being surrounded by three attractive girls 24/7.

Why was she feeling this way? Ren was certainly free to like anyone he wanted...

There was no argument as to whether he was handsome; she herself had admitted it on the morning of initiation, although she prayed that he had been still too sleepy to hear half of what she had said.

And it wasn't as if she had "called dibs" on him...

She didn't even remotely know if he had the same feelings for her as she did for him...

"It's a good thing that we had a secret signal," Ren interrupted Nora's train of thought.

Nora glanced back at him, seeing a half-smile on his face, and couldn't help but reciprocate. Reassured by his words she grabbed her pen and tapped on another team combo.

"Wanna know what _this_ one is?" she pointed at Team PBJY.

Ren tilted his head and his eyebrows bunched together; trying to figure out a _logical_ arrangement to the four letters.

Nora giggled, "PB and J... _Yang_ -wich."

Ren groaned, sinking his face into his hands. Nora could tell from the slight shaking of his shoulders that he was fighting back a laugh. After all, he had the reputation as the perfect student to keep...

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Maybe Ozpin drinks so much coffee because he's up all night figuring out team names...


	6. Busted

**Author's Note:**

Ever wonder what happens after Sun says to Team JNPR "then you can party with us tonight"? I know I do...

* * *

 ** _Suggested by:_** _Author's Original Creation_

 ** _Drabble location in R.W.B.Y. timeline:_** _Volume 2, Episode 9: Search and Destroy_

 ** _Basic Scenario:_** _Team JNPR gets to know Sun and Neptune while Team RWBY is off on their mission_

 ***BOOP***

"Oh no, Nora!" Pyrrha gasped, "Looks like we're outnumbered."

"Ha!" Nora put up her fists, "We can take 'em!"

Pyrrha laughed, "I think it might be better if they're left in one piece for tomorrow."

"Awww..."

"You know," Jaune cut in, "from being _surrounded_ by seven sisters at home to surrounded _again_ with only Ren as a company, it's a nice change of pace to have more guy friends..."

"Wait 'til you meet our _other_ teammates," Sun smirked.

"Will they be joining us?" Pyrrha asked.

Neptune laughed, "they would have... but they blew off the dance last night and partied a little _too_ hard."

"I warned them about the students from Vacuo..." Sun had a glint in his eye, "we're a _wild_ bunch."

"So..." Jaune paused at the airship, "Where to?"

"Ooh! Ooh!" Nora waved her arm, "How 'bout _Red's Arcade_ on Blue Street?"

"I'm _game_." Neptune quipped.

His companions groaned.

"Someone's been around Yang too much..."

 ***BOOP***

Nora gasped, "Ren! Ren! Ren!" She pulled him towards a large game, "I haven't seen one of these in _forever_!"

"Is that..." Ren's eyes widened.

" _Dance Busters 3000_!" Nora bounced up and down, giggling madly.

Ren had an astonished look on his face, lost in memories of the game.

Unlike the competitive dance games typically in arcades, this one was a co-op game. The premise: two hunters that activated their semblances using dance to battle ridiculously colourful Grimm.

"Oh my god, we used to be _so_ bad at this game..." Nora snorted, "Remember how the guy with a giant afro - _Dave_ or something- would save you if you missed too many notes?"

Ren smirked, "And he would blast away the Grimm..."

Nora skipped up onto the game's stage, "Come on, Ren!"

"Nora," Ren groaned, "it's been _years_."

"Reeeeen," She leaned against the bar that surrounded the back of the platform, a safety measure should dancers step too far back, "we can't be as bad as when we were kids."

Ren crossed his arms over his chest.

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeease?"

That did it...

Ren sighed, stepping forward to the platform and took the left side. "Hope you're prepared to be reacquainted with our old friend..."

"Yeah right!" Nora slipped some lien into the machine, "He'll be thanking us for vanquishing the Grimm by the time we're done."

The opening screen queued and their dancing avatars popped up. Looks like the graphics were still outdated and cheesy as ever...

"Did you... just set us to _'Master'_ level?"

"I _always_ set it to Master." Nora stretched out her arms, "It's more fun that way."

Ren shook his head, "no _wonder_ we were so bad."

"Ready?" Nora hovered her hand over the 'go' button. When Ren hesitated to answer, Nora gave a cheeky grin, slammed the button -just like old times- and laughed, "Too baaaaad!"

 _3..._

Ren gulped, recognizing the slow piano opening to a deceptively difficult song. For all of the games they had played, never _once_ had they completed this final song.

 _2..._

Nora rubbed her hands together, unafraid -as always- at a challenge.

 _1..._

Ren caught their companions in his peripheral vision. Great... now they had an audience.

 _Daaaaaaaaaance Bust 'Emmmmmmm!_

Ren took the first few steps of the dance entirely by muscle-memory. Nora followed next to him; her eyes were closed and a smile on her face. She laughed, twirling on the spot to hit a series of combo notes, and Ren was brought back to a simpler time.

When he was just a scrawny loner who didn't talk to anyone; and Nora was his ray of sunshine with a mouth that could run the Atlesian fleet.

Just as the beat was about to drop and the tempo pick up, Ren glanced in Nora's direction. She gave him a dazzling smile that made his heart skip a beat.

Well... maybe _some_ things didn't change with time.

The brass flared and the two friends battled against the stream of notes. The pacing was steady, but Ren knew what was coming up. The _first_ transfer combo.

Despite herself, Nora giggled, and grabbed Ren's hands. With a fluid motion and deceptive strength only Nora seemed to possessed, she twirled them both around, swapping sides on the platform, and jumped right back into the beat of notes. Ren's reflexes kicked in and he saved himself from stumbling off the platform; surprisingly without missing a note.

Nora's smile widened as the chorus allowed them both to catch their breath.

They were doing pretty well, certainly leagues better than they had as children. Her eyes narrowed, she knew as much as Ren did that the last part of the song had been impossible for them to get through; _several_ transfer combos, and a merciless onslaught of notes.

"Ready?" Ren asked suddenly as the tempo began creeping up.

He glanced at Nora and saw a rare look of doubt in her eyes.

He smiled to her, "Too bad," before pulling her into the first twirl of a transfer combo.

Caught off-guard by Ren's playfulness, Nora laughed, stepping between Ren's legs to hit a note that he would've missed. They continued through the battle of notes, hordes of colourful Grimm leaping at their dancing avatars.

The final transfer, no matter how often they had practised as children, _always_ tripped them up. Even now having longer legs to reach the notes on the opposing platform didn't help.

Nora slipped, her arms hooking around Ren's neck and pulling him down. Ren reacted instantly, one hand grabbing Nora by her waist and the other hitting the platform to support them. What neither of them had realized was that they're feet -and Ren's hand- were positioned perfectly to hit the final note.

Ren's heart was hammering so loudly in his ears that he barely registered the echoing game announcement, followed by roaring cheers from their audience.

 _Flawless Victory!_

Ren couldn't help think as they got back to their feet, noticing that Nora's face matched her skirt, that perhaps the game wasn't the only victory of the day.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

The song I imagined them playing on _Dance Busters 3000_ would be some sort of a techno-remix of "Boop". ^_^


	7. Collapse

**Author's Note:**

Figured I'd put my music on shuffle and see what inspiration might come from it...

* * *

 ** _Suggested by:_** _Author's Original Creation_

 ** _Drabble location in R.W.B.Y. timeline:_** _Volume 3, Episode 12: End of the Beginning_

 ** _Basic Scenario:_** _Jaune, Nora and Ren get the news of Pyrrha's fate. [Inspired by: "Who Will Save You Now" by Les Friction]_

 ***BOOP***

Nurses were swarming the waiting room, attending to students and festival goers alike. Sitting on the ground next to Ren, Nora bit back a groan. There were others who needed more help than she did... she could handle the pain for a little while longer.

Ren reached forward and placed a hand on hers, gently squeezing it.

She simply nodded, knowing that it was his way of trying to comfort her.

Ren's eyes darted up from hers, spotting a new addition to the waiting room.

Nora recognized the armoured blonde, "Jaune!" she had to resist bolting upright and running to him.

"Nora! Ren!" Jaune ran over to his teammates, "She's not here? Is she?" He was distraught.

"We haven't seen Pyrrha." Ren stated, "Ruby and Weiss were going to find her."

"I know..." Jaune ran his hands through his hair, shakily sitting beside them, "Weiss called my scroll."

"Are you okay?" Nora leaned forward, "What happened?"

Jaune hung his head and closed his eyes, "Pyrrha... she- we... we went underneath the school..." he shook his head, "to... some sort of vault... and, there was this girl- she was in a machine..."

Nora looked at Ren, seeing that he was equally confused, and then back at Jaune.

"Pyrrha got into the machine... I don't know what it was for... and she was screaming," his breath hitched, "and I couldn't save the other girl," Jaune's hands were shaking, "She was shot with an arrow, by that girl on Mercury's team... the taller one with black hair."

Ren reached up and set a hand on Jaune's shoulder, "What happened next?" he asked steadily.

Jaune let out an uneasy sigh, "Ozpin wouldn't let us fight her... said we would only get in the way..." he gulped, "I tried to ask Pyrrha what it was all about, but... but then... we saw that girl who had been fighting Ozpin going to the top of the tower. And Pyrrha..." he hung his head, "she said that there was no time... she was going to fight that girl on her own... I tried to stop her, and then she- she-" Jaune nearly broke down.

"Jaune..." Nora placed a hand on his other shoulder.

"She kissed me!" Jaune blurted out, "She kissed me, and then she shoved me into a rocket locker!" He sobbed, holding his head in his hands, "that's... how I got here..."

Nora made a sound in the back of her throat, halfway between a choke and a sob, "She's... she's still out there?"

Jaune could only nod, trying not to cry.

"She'll be fine..." Nora shook her head, blinking back tears, "she _has_ to be... she's- she's Pyrrha!"

"We can only hope," Ren bowed his head, "that Weiss and Ruby got to her in time..."

An uneasy silence descended upon the team, each praying for the safety of their friends.

A nurse approached the group, "we're ready for you two," she indicated to Nora and Ren.

Wiping her eyes, Nora hesitated in moving. She looked from the nurse back to Jaune.

"Go." Jaune implored, "You two need the healing more than I do... I'll wait here to see if there's news."

Nora nodded cautiously to Jaune as she got up. Ren leaned his weight against her shoulder with a grunt of pain and the two nurses helped them towards the nearest medical wards.

Jaune bowed his head. He didn't know who or _what_ to pray to... but he was going to try.

"Please..."Jaune begged, gripping his hands together until his knuckles turned white, "please be all right, Pyrrha."

 ***BOOP***

"Jaune!" A familiar voice called into the nearly empty waiting room.

"Weiss?" Jaune looked up at the noise and was surprised to see the white-haired girl accompanied by a strange man who held Ruby in his arms, "Who are you? Wait- what's wrong with Ruby?" He was on his feet, looking over his friends with concern.

"Name's Qrow," the man introduced himself, "Ruby and Yang's uncle." He nodded to the unconscious girl in his arms, "as for her... she's gonna be fine."

"Weiss, what happened up there?"

Weiss cast her eyes down, "Ruby and I were fighting Grimm," she took a deep breath, "I used my runes to help her run up the tower... like during Initiation against that Nevermore."

 _It felt like a lifetime ago..._

"And then, there was this bright light..."

"What?"

Weiss shook her head, "Something stopped that huge dragon."

"For now..." Qrow cut in, "but there are still too many Grimm at Beacon, it's not safe."

"Stopped? Wait." Jaune's eyes widened, "What about Pyrrha?"

Qrow sighed heavily, "I'm sorry, kid." He faced the blonde, "she's... gone."

"Gone?" Jaune was stunned, "no... no you can't be serious."

Qrow bowed his head, "I wish I wasn't..."

"No." Jaune's face twisted in agony and he dropped to his knees.

His breath hitched and he grabbed his chest, shaking his head.

Tears ran down the length of his face as he choked between sobs, "Pyrrha..."

Qrow took his leave, carrying the still unconscious Ruby into another room.

Weiss was torn between following Qrow to ensure Ruby's well-being and staying. Seeing Jaune so broken finalized her decision. She knelt at her friend's side and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I should have protected her..." Jaune's arms were shaking with effort to hold himself up, "None of this would've happened if I had done my job..."

"Jaune?" A timid voice came from nearby.

Weiss looked up, seeing Nora leaning heavily against a crutch and Ren close behind her with his arm in a sling.

"Pyrrha-" Weiss suddenly found it difficult to speak, her grip tightened on Jaune's shoulder and she tried not to choke up, "Pyrrha's... gone."

Nora's eyes widened as she shook her head, "Gone?"

Weiss could only nod, bowing her head as hot tears ran from her eyes. She was startled when Nora and Ren both knelt down next to her and pulled her into a group hug.

"I'm sorry," Jaune sobbed, "I'm- so sorry."


	8. Acceptance

**Author's Note:**

I think I've managed to nail down a release schedule for these drabbles (at least before I get swamped from finals) being Saturdays (like cartoons!)

* * *

 ** _Suggested by:_** _Author's Original Creation_

 ** _Drabble location in R.W.B.Y. timeline:_** _Before Volume 1, Episode 1: Ruby Rose_

 ** _Basic Scenario:_** _Nora and Ren await their letters from Beacon Academy._

 ***BOOP***

In their village, messages were typically recorded from the Cross Continental Transit relay and then printed off for delivery; as the scroll network signal further from the relay was spotty at _best_.

As a result, Nora was stationed outside the mailbox for nearly the entire afternoon.

Ren shook his head at his friend's antics, but remained standing at the front doorway. In truth, he was also anxious for the messages. Many of their classmates had been getting replies from the combat schools and academies, so it was only a matter of time before he and Nora received news based off of their transcripts.

Nora fidgeted where she sat, got up to pace occasionally, and looked inside the mailbox despite having her eyes glued to it the entire time.

If it weren't obvious enough, patience wasn't Nora's strong suit.

Ren sighed, "Nora. We might not get them today."

"But we could!" Nora zipped in front of him at the blink of an eye, "and what if the mailman _misses_ us? Or it starts to rain? Or someone _steals_ our letters?" her turquoise eyes narrowed at the last statement, "we've got to stay watch for them..."

Ren raised an eyebrow at her.

"Fine. _You_ don't _have_ to stay," she poked him in the chest, "but I _am_ until we get our letters!" She crossed her arms over her chest, "and there's _nothing_ in the whole of Remnant that can stop me!"

As if on cue, Nora's stomach growled loudly.

"Hush, you!" Nora yelled down at herself, her hands on her hips.

Ren smirked, only Nora would have an argument with her own stomach. "I'll make us something to eat..."

"Ooh! Ooh!" Nora hopped up and down at the suggestion, "Pancakes?"

Ren sighed, "we don't have enough flour, Nora... and you drank all of the syrup last time!"

"Awwww..." Nora groaned, "but it was _so_ good."

Shaking his head, Ren turned back inside, his mind going over recipes and how he could potentially sneak something _remotely_ healthy into Nora's food without her noticing...

 ***BOOP***

"They're heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere!" Nora's voice seemed to echo through the room as she came bolting into the kitchen, nearly tackling Ren. Her smile was bright and she held the messages above her head, waving them in Ren's face. "Look! Look!"

"I can see, Nora." Ren gently pushed her hand aside and finished plating their meals, "let's eat _first_ and then we'll open them."

"You got it!" Nora mock-saluted, plopping into the nearest seat.

Ren couldn't recall the last time he had seen Nora eat her food so fast... He had been worried that she might choke, but at least she hadn't notice any of the vegetables that he had slipped into her meal.

Ren had barely cleared his plate before Nora was dragging him into her bedroom with the letters clasped tightly in her hand.

"Okay..." Nora took a deep breath, "no matter what, I mean, if only _one_ of us gets in..." she looked up at him, her turquoise eyes serious, "you're still the best friend I could ever ask for, Ren," she forced a half-smile to try and disguise her nervousness, "and nothing will change that."

He simply reached forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Ready?"

Inhaling slowly and then exhaling, Nora nodded; her hands shook a little as she passed him his letter.

"One." Ren began.

"Two..." Nora gulped.

"Three!" Both opened their letter and unfolded it.

Glancing up from the letter's contents, Ren tried to gauge Nora's reaction. While her poker face would've normally been easy to read, she seemed nervous at her letter. Ren's nerves flare, was she scared because she hadn't been accepted? Or because she thought _he_ hadn't?

Taking a breath, Ren slowly turned the letter to face her, showing off the green acceptance seal below the headmaster's signature. Nora's face lit up and she flipped her own, revealing a matching acceptance letter.

"Eeeeee!" Nora leaped against him, nearly bowling him over with the force of her hug, "I'm so proud of you!"

He managed out a half-chuckle, his breathing restrained by the crushing embrace.

"This is going to be great!" Nora bounced off of him and whirled around on the spot with her acceptance letter in hand, "we're going to go to _Beacon_ together. I can't _believe_ it... well, I sort of figured that _you_ would get in -being the perfect student and really, really good at fighting, especially with your aura manipulation- but I was kinda nervous for us both."

Ren watched as Nora skipped around the room, humming something to herself.

"We'd better pack! Well... we don't have _much_ to pack, and we've still got a few weeks before we even _need_ to pack; but I just can't wait for it!"

She grabbed several items off of her dresser and looked at each in turn.

"Do you think there's a uniform? I bet there is, since it _is_ an academy... and I don't know if I have anything fancy enough to wear if there's a formal dance or something. Should we pick up something? Or wait until we get there?"

Her eyes lit up as she faced the kingdom map, pointing to the site of Beacon Academy, around which she had drawn a heart in pink marker.

"Beacon's all the way in the city of Vale! The capital... I wonder what it's like in the city? Probably a _lot_ busier than here in the village. Can you imagine it Ren? All of the shops and the people. I heard that they even have _airships_ to travel between the academy and the city!"

Sighing, Nora seemed to calm down; looking down at her letter and hugging it to her chest.

"Four years, Ren." She turned and smiled up at him, "Then we'll be _real_ hunters."

Ren smiled back.

Anything could happen in those four years, but one thing he was sure to be certain... Nora would be at his side, dragging him in and out of trouble at lightning speeds.


	9. Sanctuary

**Author's Note:**

Oops, almost forgot to post this for the weekend... hope everyone had a lovely Easter!

* * *

 ** _Suggested by:_** _Author's Original Creation_

 ** _Drabble location in R.W.B.Y. timeline:_** _After Volume 2, Episode 12: Breach_

 ** _Basic Scenario:_** _The aftermath of saving Vale from a Grimm invasion upon returning to their dormitory..._

 ***BOOP***

"Ugh!" Jaune groaned, "I think that was more than enough of a workout for today." He flopped onto his bed, still wearing his armour.

"It certainly will help prepare us for the Vytal Festival Tournament," Pyrrha stretched out her arms and still looked fit for battle.

"Yeah!" Nora punched the air, "we're gonna kick some butt!"

"Well, we have a little while until _then_ ," Pyrrha smiled, "plus we've still have our own assignment to complete."

"Yay..." Jaune half-groaned, half-cheered from his spot on his bed.

Nora almost didn't catch sight of Ren wordlessly slipping from the main dormitory into the kitchenette.

 _Almost..._

"So, did Ozpin say when our mission was postponed until?" Nora asked, edging her way to the kitchenette as inconspicuously as she could.

"I believe Jaune spoke with him." Pyrrha turned to their team leader who was still face-planted in the covers of his bed.

When he didn't answer, she cleared her throat loudly.

"Wha-?" Jaune looked up from his bed.

"The mission?" Pyrrha prodded, nodding towards Nora.

Slowly blinking, Jaune looked from one redhead to the other, "Right... the mission..." he pushed himself off of his bed, "Ozpin said... that we need to wait until there's an 'all clear' from the Atlas troops. But we handled most of the Grimm in town, they just wanted to be sure."

"Of course," Pyrrha turned to Nora and gave her a reassuring smile, "we should be off _any_ day now."

"Great!" Nora was now at the door, "you know, all that fighting got me hungry -again- so I'm just gonna have a quick snack!" She smiled and quickly entered the kitchenette, closing the door behind her.

 ***BOOP***

Ren sat down at the table, resting his head in his hands. He needed to regain his centre. Perhaps some tea... or light meditation... or _something_.

The door opened and Nora entered through it, saying something to Jaune and Pyrrha about getting a snack. Ren lifted his head from his hands and looked at his approaching friend.

"Hey..." Nora said softly. The concern was plainly written across her face. "I know you're kinda on edge because of the mission..."

Ren looked down at the table.

"But..." Nora sat down across from him, "we _both_ know that Jaune will keep his word, right?"

Ren felt a smile tugged at the side of his mouth as he remembered Jaune's promise kept at the dance, as ridiculous as it was. But as quickly as the smile came, it left.

That felt more like a lifetime ago rather than just _two_ nights...

"It's... not _just_ the mission."

"Well, what is it then?" Nora leaned forward.

Ren was silent, his expression turning pensive. He was beginning to shut the world out.

"Reeeennn." Nora tilted her head, trying to catch his eyes, "Come on... you know that you can talk to me about _anything_."

Ren finally looked back at her.

She raised her eyebrows, indicating that she was waiting for an answer.

Sighing, Ren folded his hands together on the table, "this morning, when..." he exhaled, "when... we were heading to the airship."

Nora blinked and suddenly her expression turned from quiet patience to sadness.

"The alarms..." Ren reach his hand forward and gently touched her wrist, "are you all right?"

Nora's turquoise eyes began to brim with tears, "It's-" she cleared her throat, "It's fine," her voice was heavy with emotion, "we stopped them this time... those creatures... right?"

Ren silently nodded, feeling his chest tighten at the memories.

"And..." Nora sniffled, "and we're gonna _keep_ stopping them," she wiped her eyes on the back of her hand, but several tears fell down her cheeks, "they're not gonna take anyone else from us," her voice went quiet. She looked at nowhere in particular, lost in thought.

Ren squeezed Nora's hand, trying to bring her back to the present, "as long as we can do something about it... we will keep stopping them," he answered pragmatically.

Her eyes darted back up at him and she offered him a watery smile.

"Hey! What are you two getting up to in there?" Jaune hollered from the main room, "We better not have to call Goodwitch for _misconduct_."

"I-" Nora cleared her throat, "We- We're making cookies!" Nora yelled, a blush appearing on her face at Jaune's suggestion, "To... to give to Team RWBY for completing their very first mission!"

"See Jaune, they're not up to _anything_..." Pyrrha's steady voice -though muffled by the closed door- responded, "now, I know you're still tired from this morning, but let's do a couple hours of training before it gets dark out."

Jaune groaned in response, but the closing of their dormitory's main door followed after a quick "save some cookies for us too!".

"Oh sure!" Nora folded her arms over her chest, pouting, " _we're_ the ones 'up to something'..."

Ren got up from his seat and grabbed his well-used 'please do nothing to the cook' apron off of it's hook. He deftly tied it around his waist and began looking through the cupboards.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"I'm making cookies," Ren stuck his head into the pantry, "provided we have enough ingredients..."

"Can I help?" Nora asked automatically, hopping from her seat.

Ren pulled out a bag of flour and looked at Nora, "if by 'help' you mean 'taste test'..."

"That's _very_ important!" Nora leaned towards him with her hands on her hips, "after all, every queen needs a royal taste tester."

"I don't think that's what a taste tester is for, Nora."

"Nonsense," Nora turned on her heel and grabbed a wooden spoon, "who better to do the tasting than the queen herself?" she held the spoon high as if it were a sceptre.

He looked up from the batter he had begun mixing and marvelled at his friend.

How could she go from being in tears to joking around in the blink of an eye?

If only he could be as free with showing his emotions; instead of bottling them all in...

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I know a certain red-hooded leader would be very ecstatic about victory cookies...


	10. Foil (Part 1)

**Author's Note:**

This one's gonna be part one of two drabbles for a short storyline ^_^

* * *

 ** _Suggested by:_** _Author's Original Creation_

 ** _Drabble location in R.W.B.Y. timeline:_** _Volume 3, Episode 4: Lessons Learned_

 ** _Basic Scenario:_** _Nora and Pyrrha are selected to compete for Team JNPR in the doubles_ _rounds (pt. 1)_

 ***BOOP***

"You know, I think _I'm_ in the lead for highest number of knockouts this year." Nora took a slurp of _Ren'_ _s_ soda, "I mean; four from our match against Team BRNZ," she counted off on her fingers, "two from the food fight at the start of the semester..."

"You're really counting _that_ as a fight?" Ren raised an eyebrow.

"Of course!" Nora rolled her eyes playfully, "it doesn't _have_ to be a 'life and death' or 'tournament-only' situation." She folded her hands over her chest, "and don't get me _started_ on how many I've got from Goodwitch's class."

"Nora, is this your way of saying that you want to compete in the doubles round?" Jaune asked flatly.

"Maaaaaaaybe." Nora smirked.

Jaune sighed, "well, we all know that I'm not ready enough to be in the vote..."

"Jaune-" Pyrrha was about to go into pep-talk mode.

"And..." Jaune continued despite the interruption, "we _all_ know that it'd be crazy _not_ to have Pyrrha compete."

"Well, I-" Pyrrha's modest nature got in the way of her words and she flushed, "I will be _honoured_ to represent Beacon and our team."

Jaune turned to his teammates, "so really, it's up to you two... Ren?"

Ren had been thinking over the doubles round from the moment that their team had been declared victors of their previous battle. He knew as much as any of his teammates that Pyrrha was a shoe-in, leaving himself and Nora as her potential partner.

He glanced over at Nora, seeing her turquoise eyes bubbling with anticipation. He knew that while he could be a match for some of the stronger competitors in the tournaments based on aura technique and proper form, he didn't have _half_ of the endurance that Nora had.

Sighing, he looked up at the expectant eyes of his friends, "there is no weakness in knowing your own limits," he gestured to Nora, "my vote goes for Nora."

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!" Nora squealed, "Thanks Ren!" She pulled him into a crushing -but all to brief- hug and then looked at Pyrrha, jumping up and down, "We're totally gonna kick some butt!"

Pyrrha chuckled at Nora's boundless enthusiasm.

Nora turned to face their leader, "so Jaune, what's mine and Pyrrha's attack name? Is it: The Babes of Beacon? How 'bout: Can't Touch This? Ooh! Is it: Norr- _ha_?"

Jaune groaned, "I'm _never_ gonna live that down..."

 ***BOOP***

All too soon came the doubles rounds; and Ren was on edge after watching Mercury and Emerald soundly defeat Team CFVY.

His heart raced as Pyrrha and Nora walked down the hallway towards the arena. Ren could count on a _single_ hand the number of times that Nora had been in a battle without him. It wasn't because she _needed_ him in a fight, more often he was intervening on her behalf or got dragged into it.

But there was something about watching her fight on her own that was both entrancing and utterly terrifying.

"Be careful." He managed to call out before they got out of earshot.

"Don't worry Ren!" Nora turned to face him but continued walking backwards to keep in pace with Pyrrha, "The ladies of Team JNPR are about to show that Beacon kicks some _serious_ butt!"

Pyrrha simply glanced over her shoulder and gave him a knowing nod.

"And I better hear your cheers down on the field, Ren!" Nora added.

Ren paused, watching as the doors closed behind Nora and Pyrrha. He felt a hand at his shoulder.

"They'll be _fine_ , Ren." Jaune stated, "now let's grab our seats before the match begins... I think Ruby was saving us some with Team SSSN."

Ren nodded, glancing back at the stadium door before following Jaune up into the stands.

 ***BOOP***

"Team JNPR of Beacon verses Team HMLK of Haven."

 _Hemlock?_ Ren's stomach sank at the team name. He remembered seeing some of the clips from the opposing team's four verses four battle.

 _'Vicious'_ wasn't even close to what he had witnessed. His grip tightened on the arm rests of his chair.

The two competitors who walked out to face Nora and Pyrrha also happened to be the team's stronger combatants. Hector Delaney, a tall second year in black armour, used aura manipulation to create dust-fuelled javelin strikes. He was accompanied by Melinda Orla, an unassuming petite fighter wearing gold clothing, who used quick combos to land strikes with a pair of curved daggers.

The field selection reels spun, choosing the terrain upon which the four would do battle; desert, ocean, ice -though there were geysers within the ice field as an added hazard- and lava.

 _All opposites..._

Ren leaned forward to get a better look. He noticed that the combatants were talking to each other, no doubt engaging in some pre-battle smack talk. He sighed, hoping that it wouldn't throw off Nora's focus, but was curious as to _what_ was being said that would cause Nora's posture to change from relaxed readiness into something more aggressive.

 ***BOOP***

"Pyrrha Nikos, the celebrity?" Hector fully extended his javelin.

"Well, I wouldn't go as far to say _celebrity_ ," Pyrrha blushed modestly.

"Can I get your autograph after we defeat you?" Hector sneered.

"That depends," Pyrrha took on her readied stance, "I don't _intend_ on being defeated."

"Ooh! Nice one Pyrrha!" Nora spun her hammer into position with a smile.

"Hey!" Melinda cut in with a smirk, "Do you think you could set me up with your tall and mysterious boyfriend?"

"B-Boyfriend?" Nora laughed nervously, "Ren and I aren't- _together_ -together..."

"No kidding," Melinda's voice was smooth, "I can't blame him, given how much you talk his ear off. I could hear you across the fairgrounds."

Nora felt herself flush, whether it was from anger or embarrassment, she wasn't sure. She couldn't help but glance out into the crowd, hoping to find a familiar green-clad figure among the masses.

"3..." The terrain was in place.

"2..." Hector and Melinda took their readied stances.

"1..." Nora faced her opponents and adjusted her grip, trying to focus.

"BEGIN!"


	11. Foil (Part 2)

**Author's Note:**

And continuing the doubles round of Team JNPR vs. Team HMLK!

* * *

 ** _Suggested by:_** _Author's Original Creation_

 ** _Drabble location in R.W.B.Y. timeline:_** _Volume 3, Episode 4: Lessons Learned_

 ** _Basic Scenario:_** _Nora and Pyrrha are selected to compete for Team JNPR in the doubles rounds (pt. 2)_

 ***BOOP***

Pyrrha charged forward, focusing her attention on Hector while Nora provided covering fire.

Hector spun his javelin in one hand, powering it before releasing it at the crimson-haired celebrity.

The attack went off her shield and Pyrrha managed to back Hector into the desert section of the arena, using the sandstone formations as cover. She grit her teeth, he wasn't using anything metallic in his javelin, so she would have to divert his attacks the old-fashioned way.

Hector spun the tip of his javelin at the nearest dune of sand, his weapon now fuelled green with a wind Dust cartridge, trying to force Pyrrha out of her cover with a sandstorm.

The whirlwind soared past her, paving an uneven pathway of glass across the lava flow in the neighbouring section. Pyrrha smirked and nimbly made her way across, hopping up onto one of the higher points of glass and launching her shield at Hector.

The black-armoured warrior deflected the shield, shifting into another stance as his javelin glowed blue with a retrieved Dust crystal.

 ***BOOP***

Melinda bolted forward in a blur, evading Nora's grenade strikes and closing in on her.

Nora spun around her weapon, trying to ward off Melinda from getting into close-quarters combat.

The golden warrior darted under the swing and swept her legs at Nora's.

Nora sprang up to dodge the attack, but was hit by another focused Dust strike from Hector. She was sent flying into the ocean section of the arena, the Dust formed ice on impact.

It didn't take long for Nora to free herself of the icy prison, but she had lost track of Melinda.

Suddenly, she was being attacked relentlessly by the speedy warrior from all sides.

After a particularly brutal slash to her back, Nora shifted her weapon back into hammer mode and took a blind swing at the blurry attacker.

Melinda grabbed onto the head of the hammer, using the momentum to vault herself behind Nora. The dark-skinned warrior smirked dangerously, her aura glowing golden as she grabbed Nora's shoulders.

 ***BOOP***

"It looks like Melinda Orla is activating her semblance!" Port announced.

Ren's heart sank as he watched Nora's knees buckle.

"Miss Orla's semblance," Oobleck quickly explained, "allows her to borrow some of her opponents' strength and fire it back at them."

"And I can't think of a _better_ candidate to borrow from than Nora Valkyrie!" Port stated.

Melinda's stance changed in a blur and she boldly swung Nora -hammer and all- across the stadium.

Nora went through a large sandstone formation on the desert terrain and hit the ground _hard_.

"Nora!" Ren was on his feet, grabbing onto the railing of the stands.

"How is that even fair?" Sun objected.

"Well _technically_ it doesn't drain aura from Nora..." Ruby supplied, nervously glancing at her outraged friends, "and -I mean- it _still_ uses Melinda's aura to channel it."

Ren's knuckles were white from gripping the railing so tightly, his hands shaking.

 ***BOOP***

Groaning, Nora uneasily got to her knees, reaching for her weapon.

"Such a shame..." Melinda's silky voice jeered, "I saw you two at the dance and you'd make _such_ a cute couple."

Nora glanced up at what was left of the sandstone structure. Her eyes darted to where Pyrrha was facing off toe-to-toe with Hector on an island in the ocean terrain.

Pyrrha was expertly dodging Hector's barrage of dust-enhanced javelin strikes but unable to get in an attack to even the match.

"Too bad though," the closeness of Melinda's voice was almost as if she was standing right next to Nora, whispering into her ear, "I can't _imagine_ that he would go for a loser..."

Nora's closed her eyes, trying to block out the taunts, and wrapped her fingers around her hammer.

"Pyrrha!" Nora shouted and swung her hammer with what strength she had left. She hit the trigger when the head contacted the structure; launching herself backwards towards the ice section and blasting the sandstone away from her.

Pyrrha reflexively rolled into a defensive stance, while Hector's attention was turned to the wave of rocks coming his way. Pyrrha exploited the opening and flanked the black armoured warrior, landing several hits while his attention was split.

With a whirl of crimson, Pyrrha finished the job, knocking Hector Delaney out of the ring with critical aura levels.

"Nora! Behind you!"

Turning around, Nora was almost taken out by the golden blur. Suddenly, a well-placed spear pinned Melinda by her scarf into a wall of ice, halting her assault.

Nora adjusted her grip, "Like you said," she panted but grinned wildly, "he doesn't go for losers..."

With a roar, Nora leaped into the air and brought her hammer down. The resulting shockwave destroyed the ice wall, sending Melinda Orla flying through the air and out of the ring.

 ***BOOP***

"Team JNPR wins!"

The crowd erupted, the students from Beacon were particularly rowdy with whistling and cheering.

Ren didn't know the last time he had shouted so loudly.

 ***BOOP***

"Well, it looks like you're keeping your knockout score in the lead," Pyrrha smiled good-naturedly, retrieving her spear.

"Yup!" Nora forced a laugh and tiredly shouldered her hammer, "After all, I _am_ Queen of Knockout Castle."

Pyrrha chuckled in response, leading the way out of the stadium without a backwards glance at their opponents.

 ***BOOP***

A red blur descended upon the exhausted warriors as soon as they entered the lobby, nearly knocking them over as Ruby tackle-hugged them.

"You guys did _amaaaaazing_!" Ruby squealed, releasing them.

The rest of their friends were jogging to catch up.

"Great job you two!" Jaune praise. Ren was at his side.

"It was a team effort," Pyrrha stated diplomatically, though she couldn't hide her blush.

"It's definitely gonna be a tough act to follow up for tomorrow..." Yang smirked.

"Hey Ren..." Nora smiled up to her taller friend, "I'm _pretty_ sure I heard you cheering."

"Well, I... uh-" Ren cleared his throat, "I had a very good reason to cheer."

Nora giggled -despite her exhaustion- and poked his nose, "Boop."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Also, as some trivia:

Melinda (dark serpent) Orla (gold / sovereign)

Hector (tenacious / defender / champion of Troy defeated by Achilles) Delaney (black challenger)

Might do a drawing of them with their other two teammates some day... :3


	12. Introductions

**Author's Note:**

If you've got an idea for a drabble; feel free to fire me a PM / review or even answer on my ask blog on Tumblr ( _ask-manda-of-the-6_ )!

I'm kinda running out of ideas... :P

* * *

 ** _Suggested by:_** _Author's Original Creation_

 ** _Drabble location in R.W.B.Y. timeline:_** _Between Volume 1, Episode 8: Players and Pieces and Episode 9: The Badge and the Burden Part 1_

 ** _Basic Scenario:_** _After their grueling initiation, the members of the newly formed Team JNPR get to know each other while putting their shared dorm room in order._

 ***BOOP***

"Oh boy," the blond-haired boy - _Jaune was it?_ \- groaned as they made their way down the hallway, "I sure hope we don't have to do _that_ again."

"That was just the beginning, silly!" Nora good-naturedly, although a bit too forcefully, clapped Jaune on the back and nearly sent him sprawling, "We've got _loads_ of Grimm to beat up before we're through, right Ren?"

He nodded, carrying his backpack on one shoulder and glancing at the other girl on their team, _Pyrrha_. The bronze-clad warrior smiled gently in response.

"Huh." Jaune stopped suddenly, "I _swear_ I remember passing by that painting before..." he pointed to a rendering of the picturesque forest, Forever Fall.

Ren stifled a groan, barely a few hours as a team and their leader was already getting them lost.

"Let me see the map," Pyrrha strode forward, looking over Jaune's shoulder at his scroll. "Well, um- perhaps if we go _this_ way."

"Uh oh!" Nora swung her duffel bag, "Guess we're lost." She smirked, "Too bad we don't have any trees to hug while we stay in one place." She unexpectedly latched onto him, "You're green enough to be a tree, Ren!"

"Nora..." Ren felt the heat rising to his face as he tried to breathe properly.

Jaune and Pyrrha had abandoned the map and were watching them closely.

"Then again!" Nora had already hopped off of him without noticing anything, "they always say that adventures are started when you get lost!" She punched the air, "we're to be daring explorers, _raising_ new trails!"

" _Blazing_." He corrected.

"That too!" Nora continued. "But don't worry, 'cause Ren and I have a super-secret sloth call that we can teach you in case we get separated-"

Ren pulled out his scroll while Nora babbled on. He pinpointed the location of their dorm room; they had just taken a wrong turn at the last T-junction.

Shaking his head, he turned around and started off in the _right_ direction. He was too tired from his aura usage during Initiation to be wasting time wandering the corridors.

"Well, it looks like Ren's our designated navigator!" Nora turned on her heel and hurried after him.

It took Pyrrha and Jaune a moment to process all that had happened before they followed.

 ***BOOP***

A couple of correct turns -and a few attempts at getting the door open- later, Team JNPR had finally arrived at their dormitory.

"Hurraaaaaay!" Nora opened her arms and leaped onto the nearest bed, "Home Sweet Home!" She looked upside-down up at her teammates, "at least for the next four years."

Ren flopped onto the bed next to Nora's, debating whether he should take a much desired nap.

Nora giggled, "Wakey wakey, sleepyhead!" She hopped off of her bed and landed next to him, "we've still got to unpack." She poked his side.

"So Nora," Jaune had set his bag down on one of the remaining beds, "Exactly how long have you and Ren known each other?"

Nora rolled right-side up, "Like since forever!" She smiled, "I can't even _remember_ a time when we weren't together..." She caught herself, "Um- But not like together-together." She giggled.

"Riiiight." Ren could hear the skepticism in Jaune's voice.

Ren was used to people mistaking him and Nora as being boyfriend and girlfriend; particularly with how affectionate Nora could be.

"What about you two?" Nora pushed against the mattress, propping her head up on her hands, "How long have you know each other?"

"Actually," Pyrrha glanced at Jaune, "we had just met earlier today."

"Well, you make a pretty good match-up," Nora blurted, "I mean- as partners." She began babbling, "you know, like fighting partners..." she giggled nervously, "Like me and Ren!"

"I've still definitely got a long way to go." Jaune groaned.

"We've still got four years worth of training before we're officially Huntsmen and Huntresses," Pyrrha stated, "I'm sure you'll be able to develop your skills, Jaune; all of us will."

"I guess..." Jaune sighed.

Ren raised an eyebrow at Jaune's pessimism.

Was it simply nervousness from being assigned the leadership role of their team? Did he just get this way because he was still tired from the Initiation? Or was there something else that was responsible for his feelings of unpreparedness?

Ren was distracted from his thoughts by Nora idly playing with his ponytail while humming softly.

"Oh, by the way, Jaune," Pyrrha had nearly finished unpacking her clothing, "I noticed a picture on your scroll when we were looking at the map."

"You mean this?" Jaune held up the device, showing off a large group photo, "that's my family: see there are my parents," he pointed out, "and my seven sisters."

"My goodness!" Pyrrha smiled, " _Seven_?"

"Wow!" Ren could hear the jaw-drop in Nora's voice. "That's a _huuuuuuge_ family! You must go through a _lot_ of pancakes."

Ren smirked, leave it to Nora to bring the conversation back to pancakes...

"Yeah, it's pretty big." Jaune rubbed the back of his neck.

"What about you Pyrrha?" Nora asked, "What's your family like?"

"Well it's not quite as large," Pyrrha stated, "but my mother just _loves_ telling stories."

Jaune gasped, interrupting the redhead from continuing, "Is that the latest issue of _X-Ray and Vav_?" he pointed at a comic book in Pyrrha's hand.

"It is..." Pyrrha flushed but showed it off, "you're a fan, Jaune?"

"Of course!" Jaune pulled out an _X-Ray and Vav_ poster from his backpack, "since Issue One was released!"

Ren could hear Nora's poorly-stifled giggle close by while their two teammates geeked-out over the comic series. He looked up from his pillow and saw Nora's face only inches from his.

"This is going be the greatest!" She whispered with a smile.

The pink-clad ball of energy bounced off of his bed, landing back-first on her claimed bed with a laugh.

Ren couldn't help but smile, rolling onto his back and allowing himself to close his eyes.

At the very least -with these teammates- he was sure that the years would be... _interesting_.


	13. Healing

**Author's Note:**

My belated birthday gift to myself... now onwards to finals!

* * *

 ** _Suggested by:_** _Author's Original Creation_

 ** _Drabble location in R.W.B.Y. timeline:_** _Between Volume 2, Episode 4: Painting the Town and Episode 5: Extracurricular_

 ** _Basic Scenario:_** _Ren wakes up sick... and Nora takes care of him_

 ***BOOP***

"Wakey wakey, sleepy butt!" Nora flopped onto Ren's bed, "we don't wanna be late for breakfast!"

Ren groaned under his covers, pulling them up over his head despite Nora lying on top of him.

Nora tilted her head, usually Ren wasn't _this_ resistant to getting up in the morning.

"Nora..." Ren coughed, "please..."

Carefully peeling back the covers, Nora could see that Ren's nose was running and his face was much paler than usual. He turned onto his side and coughed in his hand.

"Uh oh!" She looked to her teammates, who were already in their uniforms, "looks like Ren's sick!"

"Should we call the nurse?" Pyrrha asked.

"Nah!" Nora put her hands on her hips, "I can take care of him!"

Ren answered the proposition with a lengthy moan.

"You're..." Pyrrha glanced from Ren back to Nora, "you're _sure_?"

"Yup!" Nora smiled widely, "Ren's taken care of me _dozens_ of times before... it's only fair that I return the favour."

Pyrrha didn't seem entirely convinced, but changed the subject, "Did you want us to get you anything from the cafeteria?"

"I'll just grab something from the pantry." Nora shrugged; she then caught sight of the textbooks sprawled across her bed, "Oh yeah! Can you take some notes for me and Ren from class?"

"I-" Pyrrha shook her head and smiled, "of course."

"They'll be fine." Jaune led the way, "Feel better, Ren!"

Ren responded with another groan.

Shortly after Pyrrha closed the door behind herself, Nora's mind kicked into overdrive; creating a list of everything she'd need to take care of Ren.

"Never fear Ren!" She cheered, "Doctor Nora is taking house calls!"

Ren slowly blinked.

"Great idea Ren! You can blink once for 'yes' and twice for 'no'," she poked his nose, "that way you don't lose your voice... I mean, not that you _use_ it very much, but I still want to have my bestest buddy to talk to!"

Nora's stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn't yet eaten breakfast.

"First order of business!" Nora checked off her mental list, "can't go doctoring on an empty stomach. Are you hungry for anything, Ren?"

Ren blinked twice, rolling on his side and curling into a ball.

"I'll be back lickety-split then!" Nora zipped into the kitchenette to retrieve some cereal.

True to her word she quickly returned, opting to eat on her bed so she could keep an eye on Ren.

Nora systematically positioned a wastebasket and several boxes of tissues -all within arm's reach- around Ren's bed. She then piled all of the extra blankets onto Ren.

Instinctively, Ren snuggled within his blanket cocoon and fell back to sleep; Nora giggled at how adorable he looked.

Nora decided that something quieter was in order to allow Ren some sleep... like catching up on her late homework.

 ***BOOP***

It had only been a couple of hours when Ren suddenly stumbled out of his bed. He dropped to his knees and retched into the wastebasket next to his desk.

Nora bolted to his side and held back his bangs until he had finished.

Ren shakily stood, trying to regain his balance, but ended up falling against Nora.

Nora easily shouldered his weight, but it was the height difference that made supporting him awkward.

"Let's... let's get you to the bathroom..." She adjusted her grip on him so he could lean against her as she led the way.

Ren brushed his teeth in silence, sniffling a couple of times. Nora rubbed his back between the shoulders and watched him closely. Her fingers brushed against the back of his neck and she noticed how warm it was.

 _Great... looks like he's_ _running a fever as well..._

Ren had finished rinsing his toothbrush and leaned heavily against the sink. Nora wrapped her arm around his waist -squeezing gently- and offered her shoulder to him. He looked down at her, his magenta eyes didn't seem to focus properly, but nodded and leaned against her once again.

Helping him back into his bed, Nora seriously contemplated getting the nurse. It wasn't often that Ren got sick, but when he did... she shivered slightly.

"Ren." She sat on the edge of his bed after tucking him in, "did you want me to go get someone?" she sighed and looked away, "someone... who's better at doctoring than me?"

She felt Ren's hand wrap around hers and squeeze it gently. She looked back at him and saw him blink twice, slowly and intentionally.

 _He wants me to keep taking care of him? Even if I'm not very good at it?_

She felt better at that thought and smiled down to him, "Think you can keep down some _magic_ soup?"

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and he blinked once with a nod.

She couldn't help but brush the bangs from his eyes, "spicy chicken with lobster stock right?"

Another single blink and nod, although he seemed to be drifting back to sleep.

"I'll be sure to put _lots_ of vegetables in it for you, Ren," Nora tapped his nose affectionately before hopping off of the bed and skipping into the kitchenette.

 ***BOOP***

Nora ladled the finished soup into the largest bowl that she could find.

"Oops! Almost forgot the _secret_ ingredient!" she grabbed a bottle of red chili sauce and drew a smiley face on the surface of the soup, "Happy thoughts!"

Ren was sitting up in his bed when she returned, looking much better than when she had left. Nora placed the soup on the desk next to Ren's bed, plopping down next to him.

"Open wide!"

"Nora..." his voice was hoarse, "I can feed myself-"

Nora had shoved a spoon of soup into his mouth before he could protest any further.

Ren smirked when Nora removed the spoon, "It's... really good, Nora."

"Like _magic_." Nora brightened at the compliment and scooped another spoonful.

Neither of them had noticed the ripples on the surface of the soup morphing the smiley face into a small heart.


	14. Precious

**Author's Note:**

Woop! Woop! All done college at last. Still accepting suggestions if you have any. ^_^

* * *

 ** _Suggested by:_** _Author's Original Creation_

 ** _Drabble location in R.W.B.Y. timeline:_** _Volume 3, Episode 2: New Challengers_

 ** _Basic Scenario:_** _Why Ren is fairly protective of his Scroll..._

 ***BOOP***

Ruby's scroll was decorated with stickers, reflecting that despite her battle prowess, she was still a child. She would often split her attention during class playing games on her scroll while keeping an eye out for their ever observant professors.

Weiss could practically get _any_ upgrade to her scroll; so hers was typically the newest model available.

Blake barely used her scroll. It wasn't until after she had met Sun that she would occasionally pull it out to roll her eyes and smirk quietly at something he had sent her.

Yang's scroll was often buzzing with messages from her admirers, and she was usually the one to challenge Ruby to games during classes.

Jaune -to put nicely- was forgetful with his scroll. From collapsing it with his shield after a combat session -resulting in _numerous_ backtracking "missions"- or trying to type out a semi-coherent message while multitasking; Ren was surprised that their leader didn't outright lose the device.

Pyrrha sparingly used her scroll, mostly to summon her locker for combat, or to coordinate with her team on the rare occasion that she wasn't hanging out with them.

And Nora... Ren smirked a little at the thought... was _reckless_ with her scroll. Her semblance had overloaded _several_ scrolls over the course of the school year. And when _that_ wasn't causing her problems, her typical spur-of-the-moment behaviour would often result in her current model of scroll being; dropped, submerged, lost, smashed, used as a weapon, disassembled out of curiosity... among _many_ other fates.

As a result, the ever pragmatic Ren was _very_ careful with his scroll. Using it only when absolutely necessary and always putting it back into its protective case when he had finished.

 ***BOOP***

"Awww... Not again!" Nora groaned, pulling out her scroll, which fizzed with an emphatic pop, "I _knew_ I shouldn't have had it on me during our first match." She hammered her fingers against the screen to no avail before turning to face him. "Reeeeennnn?"

Ren was taken aback by how adorable her eyes looked, begging to use his scroll. After so many years, somehow Nora's puppy pout had only gotten more irresistible.

He sighed in defeat. "What do you need it for?" He was already pulling the case from his coat.

"I just wanna get a nice biiiiig picture of the fairgrounds." She leaned back and held up her hands, her fingers positioned as a frame. She twirled one her toes, still holding out her arms until Ren was now in her finger-frame. "Click!" She smiled and winked, "'Cause it's not every day that we get to go to a festival!"

He held out his scroll, "you know the rules."

"Yup!" Nora smiled, "two hands on the scroll at _all_ times, and noooooooooo throwing it."

"Or smashing." Ren raised an eyebrow.

Nora giggled, "or smashing." She held out her hands.

Ren gently placed his scroll in Nora's awaiting hands, hoping that this aura-dampening case would have a better effect.

Nora zipped away with a cheer of victory, snapping photos of the vendors, prizes, games, people... pretty much everything.

All too soon, Nora had skipped her way back in front of Ren. "Can't forget us!" She leaned back against him, her head under his chin.

Ren wasn't expecting how close she would get, and reflexively caught her by the shoulders. His shocked expression was caught at the lightning speed Nora was taking photos.

"Hmm... not that one, no that one's blurry, how 'bout- no your eyes are shut..." she turned around and pouted up to him, her hands on her hips. "Ren! You're too tall!

He blinked, raising an eyebrow at her. "How is that _my_ fault?"

"I can't get a good picture of us!" she tapped her foot, "because _yoooooou_." She poked his nose, "are ginormous!"

Ren smirked a little. He bent over until he was eye-level with Nora, "Maybe _you_ are just short."

Nora huffed. "Fine! If you're gonna be that way." She held out his scroll with one hand, her head turned up and away from him as if she were impersonating Weiss.

An unexpected smile crossed his face as he came up with a solution. With speed that could only rival Nora's pursuit of something sugar-filled, Ren scooped Nora up underneath her legs and hoisted her onto his shoulders.

Nora squealed with alarm, which turned into a laugh as she adjusted her grip on him.

"How's that?" He held onto her legs, glancing up at her.

Nora held out his scroll with both hands, snapping more pictures for his ever-growing collection. She giggled, "Much better!" She angled her arms upwards, "now smile, silly!"

 ***BOOP***

They had returned to their dorm room after a long day at the fairgrounds. Ren browsed the photo gallery on his scroll as Nora busied herself with getting her own device back online.

Ren had to admit that Nora had gotten pretty good at fixing up her current model the past few times it had shorted-out from aura usage.

He carefully sorted the day's haul of photos into a catalogued list of folders. He couldn't help smirking at some of the inverted photos, taken when Nora had hung upside-down from a tree branch.

Ren searched for the oldest photos in the gallery and opened up the first image.

A younger version of himself and Nora appeared onscreen smiling back up to him. Nora had her arm slung around his neck and her cheek squished up against his as she tried to find the right angle to take a picture of them both. He remembered feeling relieved when she ran for a butterfly after taking the photo. She hadn't spotted his blush.

His fingers traced the beat-up edges of his scroll. The device had seen a lot of wear and tear over the years, yet hadn't once given out on him. Reliable.

He couldn't help but glance back up at Nora who was intently focused on her task.

Ren smirked... looks like he needed to upgrade the space on his scroll. Again.


	15. Dreams (Part 1)

**Author's Note:**

Another two-parter but chronologically (episode-wise) they won't be back-to-back prompts...

Also, keep those suggestions coming! I'm open to story ideas, song suggestions, word prompts... pretty much ANYTHING!

* * *

 ** _Suggested by:_** _Author's Original Creation (with inspiration from StoryWriter2003)_

 ** _Drabble location in R.W.B.Y. timeline:_** _Volume 1, Episode 11: Jaundice Part 1_

 ** _Basic Scenario:_** _Whether Nora's dream is as accurate as the one she tells Ren..._

 ***BOOP***

Nora leaned forward, her eyes narrowing, "There we were... in the middle of the night."

"It was day."

She knew that she had at least Yang's attention and decided to spice up her story, "We were _surrounded_ by Ursi."

"They were Beowolves."

"Dozens of them!" She leaped to her feet, her arms wide open.

"Two of them."

"But they were no match," Nora plopped back down beside Ren, "and in the end Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of lien selling Ursa skin rugs."

Ren sighed, shaking his head as he carefully balanced his tea on the palm of his hand, "She's been having this recurring dream for _nearly_ a month now."

Nora smirked a little to herself folding her arms over her chest proudly. If there was anything she was known for, it was that she was a _terrible_ liar. But -somehow- she had successfully fooled Ren into thinking that this was the only version of the dream that she'd been having lately.

It was much easier this way, having him correct her story when it diverged from what she had initially told him.

Easier... and _safer_...

The reality was that these variations were -at the very least- much more embarrassing. At the very worst they could put one one thing that Nora held dearest in jeopardy: her friendship with Ren.

 ***BOOP***

There we were... and it _was_ the middle of the night.

We had been travelling for hours on a pathway through this huge forest.

I skipped ahead and -like usual- Ren was lagging behind. I glanced back at him, making sure he was still in sight without losing pace.

Turning back, I saw that there was a fork in the pathway, splitting it in two. I waited at the signpost, dancing to a tune that had popped in my head.

" _It's time to make up your miiiiind..."_

Ren _was_ the navigator after all. But he was taking too long.

"Reeeeeennnn! Stop being such a slow... poke..."

I turned back. Ren wasn't there any more.

No one was.

I was alone.

The boundaries of the forest seemed to close in on the pathway. Swallowing it up in darkness.

"R-Ren?"

My heart was pounding. My hands were shaking.

The rounded leaves of bushes and trees seemed to sharpen into daggers, thorns sprouted up along the sides of the pathway.

"Ren!"

"I'm here, Nora."

I whirled around at his voice. He was _ahead_ of me now, standing at the mouth of one of the pathways.

"You _ninja_ you-" Before I could follow him, I spotted something strange.

Ren had... wolf ears?

There was a glimmer in his eyes. They weren't pink anymore. They had turned red.

Blood red.

"Y- your not Ren!" I unsheathed Magdalene.

His eyes began to glow red as he bared his sharp teeth.

From the darkness of the shadows came more eyes. Dozens of them! And the growls.

Beowolves...

The red-eyed Ren crouched down and he was surrounded by black clouds. The darkness changed him into one of the Alpha Beowolves, the pink streak in his hair forming into a long stripe down his side.

Before I could strike, the pack had leaped from the shadows.

I was too slow.

There were too many of them.

I needed help.

I needed Ren.

 ***BOOP***

Nora bolted upright in bed, struggling to catch her breath. She closed her eyes and shook her head, feeling the hammering of her heart against her ribs.

"It was just a dream..." she panted to herself, "just a dream..."

She opened her eyes and looked around, hoping that she hadn't woken up any of her friends.

It was still dark out, but the light of the broken moon peeked through the curtains. She could see that her teammates were still peacefully asleep.

 _He_ was still asleep in his usual position; on his back with his hands clasped together over his chest, sort of a pseudo-meditating meets sleeping pose (she had told him as much).

Ren was murmuring something under his breath about the restorative properties of algae... or something.

Nora couldn't help smiling a little as she settled back into bed. For one so quiet during the day, she always found it funny how much of a chatterbox Ren was when he fell asleep.

She snuggled against her blankets, listening to the gentle whispers of Ren's voice and thinking of something more pleasant to dream about.

 ***BOOP***

There we were... just before sunset.

We were standing on a hill overlooking the forest of Forever Fall having a picnic.

Pancakes.

Dozens of them! All different types.

Chocolate Chip. Blueberry. Banana. Even those weird spicy ones that Ren tried making... they weren't sweet like regular pancakes but they were still good.

Because he had made them. _Everything_ tasted better when Ren made it.

He lifted a golden pitcher, and out poured thick, warm, delicious syrup.

And the pancakes were no match.

We gobbled them all up and lay in the grass.

His eyes seemed to match the sunset. They were still the pink colour that I loved.

Everything about him seemed more relaxed, happier. I knew I was happy just lying next to him.

I pointed at one of the clouds. "Looks like a sloth made out of cotton candy!"

"You say that about _every_ cloud."

"Do not!" I point at another one. " _That_ one looks like it's just made out of _regular_ candy."

He laughed. I've missed hearing him laugh.

He sits up a little bit and looks down at me with a small smile. The breeze gently flows through his bangs. I've ruffled his hair enough times in my life to know how incredibly soft it is.

"You have some syrup on your face, Nora."

Before I could wipe it off, he had a napkin to my cheek. Warm and soft.

His face was already so close to mine. I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pressed my lips against his, closing my eyes.

Warm and soft.

Mmmm... pancakes...

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Guess we know a little more about that "pancake dream" Nora has in the library. ;)

Special thanks to StoryWriter2003 for suggesting Ren as a Wolf Faunus!


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